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Old 04-15-2012, 12:33 PM   #32
Polydamas
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Central Europe
Default Re: Why short bow instead of long bow?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Allu View Post
I can't believe it took three pages for somebody to mention the law. Arms Control (Banestorm p. 90) mentions that the best any "civilian" could be expected to be allowed would be a short bow. I suspect that almost any feudal (or even just medieval) setting would have similar laws.
No. If bows or swords were forbidden, bows or swords were forbidden. The most specific laws I know of are from the 16th century and limited the length of swords, so were aimed at the upper half of society.

Long bows have been used across Europe since the Neolithic, and can range from ST 10 to ST 20. Until very recently, there was no evidence of a medieval self bow less than 5 feet long, and the evidence for short bows that now exists is limited.
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